Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Connecticut found that prostate cancer patients taking low dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes had a lower survival rate than those men who didn’t follow an aspirin regimen. The scientists attribute the difference in mortality rates to the interruption of hormone therapies used [...]

Officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would like to know if space travel increases an astronaut’s risk of developing leukemia. To find out, they are turning to scientists at Stony Brook University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Texas. The researchers will use mice and a $1.4M grant from NASA [...]

Patients in the United States and Canada are facing delays for diagnostic tests used to detect cancer, heart disease, or kidney malfunctions due to the shortage of a radioactive substance called technetium-99. Technetium-99 is extracted from molybdenum-99 canisters obtained from nuclear reactors. The primary supplier of the canisters used by US and Canadian hospitals is [...]

The Advisory Group on Ionising Radiation (AGIR) has published a report suggesting the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) increase the radiation weighting factor for tritium from 1 to 2. Radiation weighting factors are used to calculate doses and risks associated with radiation exposure. Substances assigned higher weighting factors pose a greater threat to human [...]

A new study conducted by researchers at Columbia University reports millions of Americans are receiving unnecessary computed tomography (CT) scans which could increase their risk of developing cancer later in life. Approximately 62 million diagnostic CT scans were performed in the United States last year including more than 4 million involving children. Each CT scan [...]

A study conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, indicates more than one-third of men being treated for early prostate cancer may receive “mismatched” care that’s inappropriate based on their pre-existing health conditions. Standardized treatment options for early prostate cancer include external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, prostatectomy, and [...]

Researchers at Loyola University Medical Center have completed the only study of its kind comparing the effectiveness of radiation versus surgery in treating patients with early larynx cancer. Loyola’s investigation, which included over 3800 patients, concluded that long term cure rates were equivalent using both therapies but, radiation treatment significantly reduced the risk of developing [...]

An innovative procedure is bringing some much-needed relief to patients suffering from painful and potentially paralyzing forms of spinal cancer. Vertebroplasty, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved procedure, uses a radio frequency signal to vaporize spinal tumors and then replaces the destroyed area with special surgical cement. Besides relieving the pain, the cementing technique also [...]

A study conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine showed many chronically ill people over age 60 refuse medical and surgical treatments recommended by their doctors. To arrive at their conclusions, the researchers conducted in-home interviews with patients in the advanced stages of cancer, congestive heart failure and other chronic diseases. They found [...]

Researchers at the University of Bonn have completed a five-year study showing MRIs beat standard mammograms for detecting early non-invasive tumors that can eventually turn into breast cancer. The common tumors are known as ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, and they normally form inside the milk duct of the breast. Scientists believe the majority [...]